Marcus Stroman was close to All-Star material for most of the first half of this season, but his past three starts haven’t been all that sharp for the Mets.

There was a shortened start against the Phillies, a slog at Yankee Stadium last weekend and Saturday’s dud, a performance that fell into that category based on the opponent and the manner in which it unfolded.

In this case it was the opposing pitcher, Tyler Anderson, who smacked a go-ahead homer against Stroman in the Mets’ 6-2 loss to the Pirates in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Citi Field.

One recent trend ended: After five straight doubleheaders in which they won the first game and dropped the nightcap, the Mets finally lost a Game 1. They sent rookie Tylor Megill to the mound for the nightcap.

The Pirates entered as the lowest scoring team in the major leagues, but thrived against Stroman and the Mets’ bullpen. Over his past three starts, Stroman has pitched to a 5.54 ERA with 16 hits allowed in 13 innings. This after he had pitched to a 2.32 ERA in his first 15 starts of the season.

“I think it’s a little random, a little workload, I was dealing with that hip and my body felt a little off the last three or four starts,” said Stroman, who departed a June 22 start against the Braves after one inning because of left-hip soreness. “I think these next six days, seven days that I will have off, will be incredible for my body as far as recovery.”

Stroman, who opted out of the 2020 season because of COVID-19 concerns, noted he has logged close to 100 innings before the All-Star break this year.

“I’m extremely proud of myself, I am extremely proud of everyone that is around me that helped,” Stroman said.

Stroman was perfect for three innings, but got knocked around in the fourth and fifth. Overall, he allowed three earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and departed after 68 pitches. It marked only the fourth time in 18 starts this season that Stroman allowed as many as three earned runs.

Manager Luis Rojas said he was pleased with Stroman’s pitches and would have stayed with him longer if not for the fact it was a seven-inning game. He used Jeff McNeil to pinch hit for Stroman leading off the fifth.

“A regular game, he probably gives us seven [innings] the way he was throwing the ball,” Rojas said, noting the shortened doubleheader games.

Trevor May, who had pitched 10 straight scoreless innings, entered for the sixth and surrendered a two-run homer to Bryan Reynolds that extended the Pirates’ lead to 5-2. May walked the inning’s leadoff hitter, Ke’Bryan Hayes, before Reynolds cleared the fence in right-center. The homer was the first allowed by May since June 14.

In the fourth, John Nogowski stroked a two-run double that gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead. Adam Frazier singled leading off the inning to give the Pirates their first base runner and Reynolds’ one-out single put runners on the corners before Nogowski delivered.

Anderson, the Pirates’ starting pitcher, smashed a two-out homer in the fifth that put the Mets in a 3-2 hole. The blast, which came on a 1-1 cutter from Stroman, was the second of Anderson’s career.

Kevin Pillar’s two-out RBI single off Anderson in the first gave the Mets a 1-0 lead after Nimmo and Dominic Smith had singled in the inning. Jonathan Villar’s third homer in two games, a solo blast in the fourth, tied it 2-2. On Friday, Villar had become the 10th player in franchise history to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game.

Brandon Nimmo provided the Mets a huge lift in the first inning by reaching over the center field fence to steal a homer from Reynolds. It was the latest piece of strong defensive work from Nimmo, who began the day plus two as a center fielder in outs above average, according to Statcast.

“I’m so proud of Brandon,” Rojas said. “He’s a real good outfielder right now.”